[Winners Club] Portgieter Says "Switching Irons Was the Right Choice"

First Career Win at the PGA Tour Rocket Classic
A Power Hitter Averaging 337.20 Yards
Equipped with Titleist T100 Irons Before the Tournament
Outstanding Greens-in-Regulation Rate of 85.71%

A 20-year-old South African, Aldrich Portgieter, has become a PGA Tour champion.

On June 29 (local time), at the Detroit Golf Club (par 72) in Detroit, Michigan, USA, Portgieter claimed victory at the PGA Tour Rocket Classic (total prize money: $9.6 million) after a five-hole playoff against Max Greyserman and Chris Kirk, both from the United States. With this win, he became the seventh youngest winner in PGA Tour history since 1983.

Aldrich Portgieter is smiling brightly while holding the trophy right after winning the Rocket Classic. Detroit=AFP Yonhap News Photo by AFP

Portgieter redeemed himself from the pain of a playoff loss at the Mexico Open in February and took home a winner's prize of $1,728,000 (approximately 2.35 billion KRW). He also secured a two-year PGA Tour exemption and earned invitations to next year's season opener, The Sentry, and the Masters?collecting a wealth of bonuses.

Portgieter is the PGA Tour's top long hitter. He averages seven yards longer than Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland, 320.6 yards), who was the Tour's longest driver until last year. He currently ranks first in this category with an average of 327.4 yards. Ahead of this tournament, he made changes to his club setup, adding Titleist T100 irons to his bag?four irons from the 6-iron to the 9-iron. He also mixed in a Titleist T250 (utility) and Titleist T150 (#4-5), choosing these for greater forgiveness.

His decision proved excellent. After averaging 337.20 yards off the tee with his driver (first overall), he was able to attack the greens with ease using his irons. Over the four days of the tournament, his greens-in-regulation rate was 85.71% (third overall). Portgieter expressed his satisfaction, saying, "Previously, I used blade irons. The T100 irons were much easier to hit. They generate more spin and launch the ball higher, which I really liked."

<Clubs Used by Portgieter During the Rocket Classic Victory>

Driver: Titleist GT2 (9 degrees)

Fairway Wood: Ping G440 Max

Utility: Titleist T250

Irons: Titleist T150 (#4-5), Titleist T100 (#6-9)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (46, 50, 54 degrees), Titleist Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60 degrees)

Putter: Scotty Cameron 009M Tour Prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x+ Prototype *Source: PGA Tour